Music

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Play ball! Well, so far the Dodgers look like the Dodgers, even under the tutelage of Joe Torre, who must, with hitting coach Don Mattingly, find a way to wake up the sleepy bats. Otherwise, the story of the first week of baseball is, when will the highly touted Detroit Tigers win their first game? And Baltimore (5-1) and Kansas City (4-2) need to take a picture of those standings, because they may not remain that way for long.

Baseball still plays well at SLIFR, if last week’s poll counts for anything (and it doesn’t). Of the seven films specifically listed, two emerged neck-and-neck victors, with The Bad News Bears inching out 22 votes (25%) over Ron Shelton’s Bull Durham (20 for 23%). The only other movie to make a real wave was the tepid (sorry!) fantasy of Field of Dreams, which garnered 17 votes for 19%. Eight Men Out managed only 8 votes (9%), and The Natural, which I find tends to appeal to the same baseball/movie fan that likes Field of Dreams, took only 7 votes (8%). Cobb, not a movie anyone is likely to take to his or her ashen, bitter heart (though I have), grabbed a paltry 3 votes (3%). But that’s better than did The Pride of the Yankees. Has this movie fallen out of favor while I wasn’t looking? No luck, and not a single vote, for Gary Cooper and Babe Ruth in Sam Wood’s sentimental classic.

P.S. It’s busy in the real world today, but those looking for the Joe Dante interview will be satisfied soon. I’m projecting to have it edited and posted sometime tonight, in anticipation of the official start of the Dante’s Inferno film festival tomorrow night at the New Beverly Cinema. I think I’m looking forward to reading it as much as some of you!

10 comments:

Ooh, congratulations, Dennis! What a load off. Damn, do I hate tests. I still have that horrible cliche' of a dream, where I go to class, after having been absent all semester, and have to face the music. School sure does a number on people, and now you get to dish it out!

Baltimore 5-1 and Kansas City at 4-2. I know it won't keep up but here's hoping. The Orioles are my local team (I don't claim that National League franchise in town). The Royals have been so bad for so long that I have adopted them over the years as my second team, especially since the Sox started winning. One of the reasons I originally went with the Sox and the Pats (aside from my love of Boston and the New England area) when I was a kid was because they stunk and my dad always taught me to root for the underdog.

Well, obviously that's not the case with them anymore and while I'm not abandoning any teams I've loved for decades now my future hopes are pinned on the Royals or the Orioles.

And again they're American League. And we all know the American League and the AFC in the NFL are the best leagues/conferences around. You know, Los Angeles has an American League franchise Dennis. You could join us over here on the good side.

I think a lot depends on at what point in your life you saw these films. I saw The Natural when I was 10, and Field of Dreams when I was 13. I played organized baseball through community college. Intellectually, yes I know these films can be seen as sentimental horseshit (I've read Malamud's novel, so I know how badly Levinson screwed with the source material) -- it's just that when I see these movies, it's like going back to when I was 10 or 13 and was in love with baseball.

Now that I'm more in love with movies than baseball (living in a city where the Metrodome is your home stadium will do that to you), I tend to avoid the usual sports movies like the Remember the Titans stuff. So there -- a cynical movie buff (Altman is one of my favorite directors) who likes The Natural and Field of Dreams.